Hong Kong News

Nonpartisan, Noncommercial, unconstrained.
Friday, Mar 24, 2023

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez tapped several people close to Elon Musk to urge him to relocate Twitter out of San Francisco: 'They belong here'

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez tapped several people close to Elon Musk to urge him to relocate Twitter out of San Francisco: 'They belong here'

The Tesla and Space X CEO hasn't yet responded to Miami's mayor about whether he'd consider moving the company's headquarters out of San Francisco.
Miami Mayor Francis Suarez hasn't given up on trying to lure Twitter away from San Francisco. 

"I think they belong here," Suarez told Insider during an interview on Wednesday at City Hall. "I think that their rebranding fits our city, which is a city that puts a premium on liberty and freedom of expression."

Suarez publicly urged Twitter to move its headquarters to Miami by tweeting the suggestion to CEO Elon Musk at the beginning of December.

But Musk, one of the world's richest people who is also CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, hasn't gotten back to Suarez even though the mayor tried to reach him through several channels. The two have yet to have a phone call about the prospect, Suarez said. 

"I have reached out to him through multiple different sources of people that I know are close to him, people that are friends of his, former board members of his companies, people that are helping him with the project," Suarez said. "I haven't heard back yet. Obviously, it's a hyper-complex situation with everything that's going on."

Suarez proposed relocating the company headquarters from San Francisco after Forbes reported that city building inspectors launched an investigation into reports that Twitter converted several office rooms at its headquarters into bedrooms so workers could work long hours and sleep there. 

Musk tweeted about the news and questioned San Francisco Mayor London Breed's priorities. 

"So city of SF attacks companies providing beds for tired employees instead of making sure kids are safe from fentanyl," he wrote. 

Suarez then chimed in on Twitter to say it was time for the social media giant to make a geographical change for its business. Suarez, 45, is a Republican but the office of the Miami mayor is considered nonpartisan. 


Should Twitter make the leap to Miami, it would be far from the only big company to do so. Suarez has been shepherding the city toward becoming a major tech hub — a migration that became especially pronounced during 2020 pandemic lockdowns. 

One of Miami's biggest business gains was the hedge fund and financial services company Citadel, which moved its headquarters from Chicago. Citadel CEO Ken Griffin is a lead donor to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and Suarez said such business migrations would help turn Miami into what he called the "capital of capital" and "the epicenter of aggregation and deployment of capital." 

"Those kinds of big-movement events have an ability to change the dynamic and continue the process of changing the reputation of our city — from a city that was just a place to go to have fun, or a place that you would maybe go to retire, to a place where you could do serious business," he said. 

Suarez, who is of Cuban descent, told Insider that Musk's repositioning of Twitter made it a strong fit for Miami because "this is a city that leans into the American dream and the American experience of working hard and wanting to better yourself." Nearly three-quarters of people living in Miami are Hispanic, and Suarez said many families who live here come from countries in which "freedoms are taken away."

As CEO of Twitter, Musk has promised to unleash free speech. He altered Twitter's content-moderation policies and reinstated certain banned accounts, including that of former President Donald Trump.

Musk, however, also temporarily suspended the accounts of a number of journalists after accusing them of "doxing." Some of the reporters had written about the suspension of the account @ElonJet, a Twitter account that used publicly-available information to track the whereabouts of Musk's private jet. 

It's not clear whether Musk is considering moving the company's headquarters. A Twitter message Insider sent to the company's communications team was not answered. 

Musk formally acquired Twitter in October for $44 billion, and since then he cut about half the company's workforce. He launched new features and revoked others, and various celebrities have quit the platform. Musk has said he'll step down as CEO once he finds someone else to fill the role. 

Asked about the "Twitter Files" of internal company deliberations that Musk released to select independent reporters, Suarez said that he was not "overly shocked" because of already-existing perceptions about the company under previous leadership. 

The "Twitter Files" reporting included communications that showed how Twitter employees decided which tweets or accounts to suppress and elevate, as well as input from government entities under both the Biden and Trump administrations. 

"Maybe that'll create some measure of accountability and fear that if you're working in a company, this could happen," Suarez said. "Somebody could buy the company say, 'Hey, we're going to air out our practices and procedures,' and so you should be thinking about that possibility."
Newsletter

Related Articles

Hong Kong News
Close
0:00
0:00
Donald Trump arrested – Twitter goes wild with doctored pictures
NYPD is setting up barricades outside Manhattan Criminal Court ahead of Trump arrest.
Credit Suisse's Scandalous History Resulted in an Obvious Collapse - It's time for regulators who fail to do their job to be held accountable and serve as an example by being behind bars.
Goldman Sachs cuts outlook for European bank debt over Credit Suisse crisis
Paris Rioting vs Macron anti democratic law
'Sexual Fantasy' Assignment At US School Outrages Parents
The US government has charged Chinese businessman Guo Wengui with leading a $1 billion fraud scheme that cheated thousands of followers out of their money.
Credit Suisse to borrow $54 billion from Swiss central bank
The BBC problem about China
Russian Hackers Preparing New Cyber Assault Against Ukraine
"Will Fly Wherever International Law Allows": US Warns Russia After Drone Incident
If this was in Tehran, Moscow or Hong Kong
Announcing GPT-4
TRUMP: "Standing before you today, I am the only candidate who can make this promise: I will prevent World War III."
China is calling out the US, UK, and Australia on their submarine pact, claiming they are going further down a dangerous road
A brief banking situation report
We are witnessing widespread bank fails and the president just gave a 5 min speech then walked off camera.
Donald Trump's asked by Tucker Carlson question on if the U.S. should support regime change in Russia?.
'No relation to the American SVB': India's SVC Bank acts to calm depositors amid brand name confusion.
Good news: The U.S. government is now guaranteeing all deposits, held by, Silicon Valley Bank, and the funds are available as of today
Silicon Valley Bank exec was Lehman Brothers CFO
In a potential last-ditch effort, HSBC is considering a rescue deal to save Silicon Valley Bank UK from insolvency
Saudi Arabia has announced a major breakthrough in diplomacy with Iran after two years of intense talks
Elon Musk Is Planning To Build A Town In Texas For His Employees
The Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse effect is spreading around the world, affecting startup companies across the globe
City officials in Berlin announced on Thursday that all swimmers at public pools will soon be allowed to swim topless
Fitness scam
Market Chaos as USDC Loses Peg to USD after $3.3 Billion Reserves Held by Silicon Valley Bank Closed.
A primitive judge in Australia sparked outrage when he told a breastfeeding woman to leave his courtroom for being “a distraction"
Barcelona is feeling the heat as they face corruption charges over payments to former vice-president of Spain's referees' committee, Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira
Banking regulators close SVB, the largest bank failure since the financial crisis
Silicon Valley Bank: Struggles Threaten Tech Startup Ecosystem"
The unelected UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, an immigrant himself, defends new controversial crackdown on illegal migration
Old clip of Bill Gates saying Ukraine is a big, fat, corrupt sinkhole is going viral
Man’s penis amputated by mistake after he’s wrongly diagnosed with a tumour
2 universities in Hong Kong embrace use of ChatGPT, other AI tools
In a major snub to Downing Street's Silicon Valley dreams, UK chip giant Arm has dealt a serious blow to the government's economic strategy by opting for a US listing
Missing Chinese banker was working to set up Singapore family office
Hong Kong ditches Covid mask mandate after 945 days
Xi Jinping and His Wife Meet with Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni and Queen Mother Norodom Monineath Sihanouk
How do stolen goods end up on Amazon, eBay and Facebook Marketplace?
It's the question on everyone's lips: could a four-day workweek be the future of employment?
Is Gold the Ultimate Safe Haven Asset in Times of Uncertainty?
Spain officials quit over trains that were too wide for tunnels...
Hello. Here is our news digest from London.
Corruption and Influence Buying Uncovered in International Mainstream Media: Investigation Reveals Growing Disinformation Mercenaries
When it comes to Tesla vs Lamborghini, an empty vessel makes more noise
European MP Clare Daly condemns US attack on Nord Stream
Former U.S. President Carter will spend his remaining time at home and receive hospice care instead of medication
North Korea test-fires an intercontinental ballistic missile into the Sea of Japan west of Hokkaido
×